Budget mixed bag: IT, telecom sectors

By agencies   |   Tuesday, 28 February 2006, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: In his Budget speech, the Finance Minister P Chidambaram said services and goods will be treated on equal footing. If that were to be so then 10 percent service tax that you pay on your total billed amount could perk up by an additional two percent in each bill. Notwithstanding this, the Budget was hailed as a “mixed bag” by various Information Technology (IT) and telecom industry segments. Most described it as a “status quo” Budget with no new taxes being levied on IT and BPO sectors. Commenting on the Budget 2006, TEMA President and Ericsson India’s Vice-President, P Balaji said, “We wholeheartedly welcome the Budget as it has several pointers that would lead to creating an eco-system for manufacturing.” Though the peak customs duty has been reduced by 2.5 percent, it will not mean any cuts in cellphone prices. While telecom and IT manufacturers welcomed the Budget, the software industry was not very sure immediately if it was impacted positively or negatively.